Ep 250 Authentic Leadership, Ego, and Why So Many Leaders Get Stuck with Matt Paden

What does it actually take to become a strong, authentic leader? In this episode, Tyler talks with Dr. Matt Paden, president and managing partner of Great Days Leadership and co-author of The Core: Eight Principles for Building Strong Authentic Leadership, about why leadership development often falls short and what leaders need most if they want to keep growing. Matt explains why so many people confuse leadership with power or position, and why that confusion creates weak leadership models across organizations, teams, and culture. Together, he and Tyler unpack the challenges leaders face when moving from individual contribution to leading others, and why ego, defensiveness, and a lack of coachability often keep leaders from embracing the truth about themselves. This conversation also explores mentorship, vulnerability, emotional intelligence, purpose, self-awareness, and the importance of learning how to lead from who you are, not just what you do. In this episode: Why many leaders are not truly improving The danger of confusing leadership with power Why coachability is essential for growth How ego gets in the way of strong leadership Why truth and self-awareness matter so much What sports and mentorship can teach us about leadership How purpose helps leaders stay grounded What authentic leadership looks like in practice Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Relationships are not just valuable. They are everything. In this episode, Tyler sits down with Mo Lidsky and Bob Gould, co-authors of Konnect Better: Unlocking the Power of Your Relationships, for a conversation about why relationships are the real foundation of success, and why so many people still struggle to build them well. Drawing on decades of work with high-achieving individuals, entrepreneurs, and affluent families, Mo and Bob explain why many successful people feel misunderstood, disconnected, or unable to create the kind of intimacy and trust they actually want. They talk about what happens when people build lives around results and respect, but never learn how to lead with care in their closest relationships. This conversation goes deep into the real drivers of connection: commitment, communication, conflict, vulnerability, identity, acceptance, and the ability to listen without trying to fix. Tyler also brings in his own perspective on insecurity, self-worth, and the walls people build to protect themselves. If you’ve ever felt like success in one area of life hasn’t translated into deeper connection in the relationships that matter most, this episode will give language to what’s happening, and a better way forward. In this episode: Why relationships are the most important asset in life Why high performers often feel misunderstood How success can create distance instead of connection The hidden role identity plays in relationships Why many leaders struggle to receive help How to listen without trying to solve everything Why commitment, communication, and conflict matter so much What it takes to build deeper, healthier relationships Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does startup growth reveal about a founder? In this episode, Tyler talks with Colin Hodge, startup founder, growth strategist, co-owner of the dating app Down, and author of Outrageous Startup Growth, about the highs and lows of building fast-growing companies and what those experiences teach you about leadership, identity, and resilience. Colin shares how early viral traction and massive attention created a misleading definition of success, and how that eventually led to burnout, self-doubt, and what Tyler calls a “mirror-shattering moment.” Together, they unpack the emotional side of entrepreneurship, including founder ego, external validation, sustainable growth, authenticity, empathy, and the internal work required to build something meaningful over the long term. This conversation goes beyond startup tactics. It explores what happens when success becomes part of your identity, why so many founders chase the wrong metrics, and how values, reflection, and user empathy can help leaders grow both healthier companies and healthier lives. In this episode: How Colin built and scaled startup products to millions of users The danger of chasing vanity metrics What happens when founder identity gets tied to success Why resilience matters more than hype How empathy and user psychology drive better growth The difference between fast growth and sustainable growth Why significance matters more than external recognition How founders can keep growing without losing themselves Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What actually causes founders to fail? In this episode, Tyler talks with Rich Hagberg, leadership consultant, CEO advisor, and author of Founders Keepers, about the leadership patterns that separate successful founders from unsuccessful ones. Drawing on research from 122 founders, Rich explains why adaptability is the single greatest differentiator in founder success. Together, he and Tyler unpack what happens when founders stop listening, become reactive, hold too tightly to control, or fail to adjust as their business grows. This conversation goes beyond surface-level leadership advice. Tyler and Rich talk about what scaling really demands from a leader, including self-awareness, emotional regulation, reflection, humility, and the willingness to let go of what worked in an earlier season. They also explore the internal side of founder leadership, including insecurity, fear of failure, bottlenecks, micromanagement, burnout, and why some leaders never make the shift from visionary to healthy, scalable leadership. If you are building something, leading people, or trying to grow without becoming the thing that holds your organization back, this episode will give you a lot to think about. The number one reason founders fail Why adaptability matters more than vision alone How founder ego and defensiveness create blind spots The hidden cost of emotional reactivity in leadership Why self-awareness is essential for scaling a company What healthy reflection looks like after failure How leaders can grow through transition instead of repeating old patterns The number one reason founders fail Why adaptability matters more than vision alone How founder ego and defensiveness create blind spots The hidden cost of emotional reactivity in leadership Why self-awareness is essential for scaling a company What healthy reflection looks like after failure How leaders can grow through transition instead of repeating old patterns In this episode: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What you're hiding is leading you! In this conversation, Tyler sits down with Jackson Lahmeyer to talk about what really drives leadership beneath the surface. They get into the pressure leaders carry, the patterns we develop to protect ourselves, and how those patterns quietly shape our decisions, relationships, and impact. Jackson shares his story of becoming a father at 17, the weight of trying to prove himself, and the moment he realized that hiding parts of his life was costing him more than he thought. They talk about why leaders live divided, how insecurity shows up in ways most people don’t recognize, and what it actually takes to move toward freedom. This isn’t a conversation about theory. It’s about what happens when you stop managing perception and start dealing with what’s real. If you’ve ever felt like something is off in how you’re showing up, this will help you understand why. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Tyler Dickerhoof Show, Tyler sits down with Sebastien Page, Head of Global Multi-Asset and Chief Investment Officer at T. Rowe Price and author of The Psychology of Leadership. Sebastien oversees hundreds of billions in assets, but his biggest insights aren’t about markets — they’re about how leaders make decisions under pressure. Together, Tyler and Sebastien explore the psychology behind leadership, decision-making under uncertainty, and the mental traps that often lead even smart leaders astray. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most champions aren’t born in comfort — they’re built through adversity. In this episode, I sit down with Joe Delagrave, a Paralympic medalist, elite wheelchair rugby athlete, and coach whose life changed forever after a devastating injury. What followed wasn’t just a comeback story — it was a complete transformation of identity, belief, and purpose. Joe shares the powerful moment he realized that his injury didn’t define him. Instead, the story he told himself about that moment would determine the rest of his life. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most entrepreneurs are stuck in scarcity — and it’s quietly capping their income. In this episode of The Tyler Dickerhoof Show, Sal Salpietro breaks down the exact mindset shift that helped him go from real estate investor to building an ATM empire generating $11,000,000 per month in surcharge revenue in just three years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What if the future of your company depends on people you’re overlooking right now? In this powerful episode, Bruce Vojak reveals why breakthrough innovation doesn’t come from process, hierarchy, or fancy strategy decks — it comes from rare individuals who naturally see patterns others miss. These “pattern recognizers” anticipate trends before they’re obvious. They influence without authority. And they quietly shape the future from inside organizations. Most companies fail to identify and empower them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most leaders are stuck on a hamster wheel—overwhelmed by complexity, buried in meetings, and constantly firefighting. The worst part? Many don’t even realize the real problem isn’t workload… it’s hidden organizational friction. In this episode of The Tyler Dickerhoof Show, former military general turned leadership strategist Jimmy Burroughes reveals how outdated “command and control” leadership models are silently destroying performance in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices